Off-Page SEO Checklist: Our Top 8 Tips

What Is Off-Page SEO?

Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside your website to improve its authority and trustworthiness, which can improve your visibility in search engines as well as your overall brand reputation.

Some off-page SEO tactics that can help build a strong online presence include:

• Building high-quality backlinks (links from other sites that point to your site)
• Getting your brand mentioned online
• Sharing content on social media 

In contrast, on-page SEO involves optimizing webpage elements (e.g., improving content, incorporating internal links, and boosting page speed) to get more search engine traffic.

Off-Page SEO Checklist

Follow these eight steps to get the most from your off-page SEO efforts. 

1. Audit Your Backlink Profile

Auditing your backlink profile (i.e., all the backlinks to your site) helps you assess the quality and relevance of the links pointing to your site to uncover ways to strengthen your profile—and that can improve your visibility in search results. 

This is because backlinks are a key ranking factor. 

Basically, backlinks signal that your website is credible and deserving of ranking (showing in search results), as long as those links are from reputable and relevant websites. 

To quickly audit your backlink profile, use Semrush’s Backlink Analytics tool.

Simply head over to the tool, enter your domain name, and click “Analyze.” 

Next, you’ll see a dashboard that contains a variety of data points. Including:

• Authority Score: Semrush’s proprietary metric that measures the domain’s reputability. A high number indicates your domain is high in quality. 
• Referring Domains: The number of unique domains linking to your site. A higher number can increase your site’s authority, especially if those sites have high Authority Scores.
• Backlinks:The total number of links pointing to your site. Generally, a higher number is better.
• Overall Toxicity Score: A measure of how healthy your backlink profile is. A rating of “Medium” or “High” indicates there’s room for improvement. 

• Top Anchors: Shows the most common anchor text other domains used to link to you. A natural variety is good, while overuse of the same few variations can be seen as spammy.
• Referring Domains by Authority Score: Reveals how Authority Scores vary among referring domains. The more domains with a high Authority Score that point to your site, the better.
• Link Attributes: Shows the division between follow and nofollow backlinks. Follow links typically pass ranking authority, so it’s best to prioritize them. 

Consider these data points and what they indicate. 

For instance, a high number of referring domains from reputable websites with strong Authority Scores indicates that search engines see your site as authoritative. And you don’t need to do much to improve your backlink profile. 

2. Analyze Your Competitors’ Backlink Profiles

Analyzing your competitors’ backlink profiles can help you determine whether those profiles are giving them an advantage in rankings—and provide valuable insights into their link building tactics. 

For example, if they’ve secured many high-quality backlinks using infographics, you could start creating your own infographics. Ideally, versions that are even better than what your rivals are publishing.

Use Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool to analyze your competitors’ link profiles alongside yours. 

Simply enter your domain and the domains of up to four competitors, then click “Find prospects.”

On the dashboard, click the “Charts” drop-down to compare your Authority Score and referring domains with your competitors over the past 12 months. 

If your competitors have significantly higher Authority Scores than you, it could be because they’re getting backlinks from more reputable domains.

Below the charts, you’ll find the “Prospects for” section—make sure your domain is selected and click “Best” to generate a list of domains linking to competitors’ sites but not to yours. 

Click on figures in competitors’ columns to see which pages attract backlinks from a specific domain. 

Like this: 

Analyze this information to identify high-value domains and the types of content they tend to link to. And use that to inform your link-building efforts.

3. Build High-Quality Backlinks

In addition to finding opportunities from your competitors’ backlinks, there are several other link building tactics to consider when working through your off-page SEO checklist:

• Guest posting: Write useful pieces of content for reputable sites in your niche. These can result in backlinks to your site.
• Reclaiming broken links:Find broken external links on target websites and offer an alternative page with relevant content from your site 
• Skyscraper technique: Identify competitive content other websites link to, craft an improved version, and encourage those websites to link to your content instead
• Unlinked brand mentions: Locate mentions of your brand that don’t include a link and request one
• Linkable assets: Create content like research reports, infographics, tools, or guides that naturally attract backlinks
• Expert advice: Share your expertise through interviews, podcasts, or answering media requests. Publishers often provide a link when they cite you.

Prioritize techniques that seem like the best fit for your business.

For instance, if your brand is well-known and mentioned throughout the web, pursuing unlinked brand mentions makes sense. 

Or, if your company employs leading industry experts, sharing their expertise with writers and journalists is a sensible approach for acquiring backlinks. 

Semrush’s Link Building Tool can help you implement these tactics.

First, head to the tool and add your domain. 

Then, click “Start Link Building” to set up your campaign. 

Once in the tool, go to the “Prospects” tab. 

Here, you’ll find a list of promising websites to contact.

You may want to prioritize websites with high Authority Scores (listed in the “AS” column). Because these reputable sites can better help you build your own authority.

Once you’ve selected some websites and know which link building tactic you want to use, check the boxes next to those websites, select the drop-down menu next to the “To In Progress” field, and choose the tactic you’ll be using. 

Go to the “In Progress” tab—your chosen prospects now appear here. 

Click “Contact” to email a prospect from within Semrush’s tool. Available email addresses will be automatically added.

Once you acquire a backlink from a prospect, move that website to the “Monitor” tab by clicking the checkmark in the far right column. 

This way, you can track if you lose that backlink or if a referring domain is no longer live. 

4. Optimize for Local SEO

If you run a local business, off-page local SEO efforts like getting relevant citations and reviews can increase your online visibility.

It helps you show up on Google Maps and search results for keywords with local search intent.

Like “indian restaurants in new york”:

To appear for local searches, implement these tips: 

• Create and optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP):An optimized profile can make your business appear more prominently in local search and ensure users have up-to-date details on your business
• Get local directory listings with consistent information:Local directories (like Yelp, Tripadvisor, and industry-specific directories) are another way for customers to discover your business. And ensuring your name, address, and phone number (NAP) information is consistent helps search engines verify information about your business. 
• Encourage reviews: Accumulating reviews—especially positive ones—can increase trust and improve local search rankings.

Also, make it a habit to respond to customer reviews.

Google encourages businesses to reply to both positive and negative reviews. Because it helps to show that you value feedback. 

You can respond to Google reviews using your Google Business Profile account. 

Or, use Semrush’s Review Management tool to respond to Google reviews. And get notified about reviews in other directories. 

Head to the tool, find your business, and sign up for an account. 

Once on the main dashboard, you’ll see an overview of your reviews. Including your average rating.

Scroll down to see your actual reviews.

To reply to a Google review, you can type your own response. Or click “Generate draft” to streamline your responses. 

Click “Reply” once you’re ready to post your response.

Further reading: Beginner’s Guide to Online Reputation Management

5. Earn Brand Mentions 

Earning brand mentions involves getting your business name referenced around the web, which may positively impact your SEO.

While Google’s John Mueller has clearly stated that brand mentions (without backlinks) don’t directly affect rankings, those references can get you in front of new audiences who may be more likely to click on your results in search engines.

And we now know that Google’s Navboost algorithm considers click-related behavior to influence rankings. 

Here are some of the activities you can carry out to earn brand mentions:

• Influencer collaborations: Partner with influencers in your industry to create content that showcases your brand. This can be product reviews, unboxings, tutorials, or any content relevant to your business. 
• User-generated content (UGC) campaigns: Encourage your customers to share their experiences with your products/services on their social media platforms. You can even offer incentives such as giveaways or features on your official channels to motivate them.
• Press releases: Whenever you have something newsworthy to share(like a new product launch or company milestone), draft a press release and distribute it to media outlets
• Podcast and webinar appearances: Either host your own or be a guest on popular industry podcasts or webinars
• Affiliate marketing: Start an affiliate program that involves bloggers, influencers, and websites promoting your brand in exchange for a commission. You’ll need a dedicated budget for commissions, so plan accordingly.
• Free education: Offer free workshops, seminars, or courses related to your industry. To position your brand as an authority.

You’ll also want a way to monitor whether these efforts are increasing your brand mentions. And whether those mentions have positive sentiment. 

This is where the Brand Monitoring app can help.

Head to the app, configure it to track your brand name, and enter the main dashboard. 

You’ll then see a report that lists various mentions of your brand. 

You can also get daily, weekly, or monthly email updates on new brand mentions. Or set up custom alerts based on triggers like an unusual spike in mentions. 

The app offers details on sentiment, country, language, and more for each brand mention.

Further reading: How to Measure Brand Awareness

6. Share Content on Social Media

Promoting your content on social media can drive more traffic to your site, increase the chances of more people discovering and linking to your content, and even lead to more searches for your brand later on.

Plus, social media pages and posts can appear in search results. Which is especially useful if you syndicate content on platforms like LinkedIn.

Like Andreessen Horowitz does with its newsletter:

Here are a few best practices for sharing content on social media:

• Choose the right platforms: Focus on platforms where your target audience is active and that make sense for your marketing strategy. For example, Instagram and Pinterest work well for home decor companies.
• Repurpose your content: Use the same content in different ways to tailor it to the platform and expand its reach. For instance, break a webinar into YouTube Shorts or turn a blog post into Instagram posts.
• Encourage your team: Empower your team to share your content on their personal social accounts. To increase its reach and introduce it to new audiences.
• Engage with your audience: Respond to comments, ask questions, and encourage other interactions. Users who see a brand actively engaging are more likely to interact and share the content themselves. 

Planning and posting content across platforms takes time, so use Semrush’s Social Poster tool to make things easier.

This tool lets you schedule and publish posts across different platforms. And you can use AI to help draft your content.

Social Poster also has an interactive calendar you can use to plan months of social content in advance. 

7. Collaborate with Influencers

Partnering with online creators in your niche who have a large and engaged following can introduce your product or service to new audiences—and that can possibly lead to more brand searches, brand mentions, and backlinks in the future. 

Just make sure to find influencers whose audience aligns with your target market and whose content reflects your brand’s values and goals.

You can manually search for influencers on various platforms.

For a faster approach, try Influencer Analytics.

Just head to the app and set up an account.

Enter a prompt that specifies the type of influencers you’re looking for in the AI-powered bar at the top.

Use the filters (to specify budget, subscriber count, etc.) if you want to narrow your results even more. 

Click on an individual influencer’s profile to get additional information and details on how to contact them.

And click “Add to lists” if they meet your criteria.

Once you’ve identified potential influencers, make sure they’re a good fit by looking into their social presence. 

Specifically, you can:

• Analyze top-performing content: Check what type of content resonates most with their audience
• Read audience comments: See what their followers say and what they seem to find most engaging
• Check if they’re a brand fit: Make sure the influencer’s style and tone align with your brand

8. Be Active in Forums

Participate in relevant forums and online communities by sharing your expertise and responding to other users’ comments—doing so could lead to more visibility in search results. 

There’s been a noticeable increase in Google rankings from forums like Reddit. 

For example, a Reddit thread appears near the top of results for the search “best project management tools”:

And if searchers click through to those discussions, they might see your valuable insight and be more likely to seek out your content later on. 

Avoid being overly promotional and sharing links to your website unless they’re genuinely useful.

For example, the image below shows a user sharing helpful resources for SEO beginners in a Reddit thread:

Further reading: Reddit Marketing 101: How to Successfully Market on Reddit

Track Your Off-Page SEO Success

Using an off-page SEO activities list to implement changes can lead to better results. 

Then, you can monitor various metrics to ensure your efforts are delivering results: 

• Backlinks: Watch the total number of backlinks you receive and how many referring domains you have
• Brand searches: Monitor the volume of brand search queries over time, the regions where those searches are prevalent, and any seasonality or event-driven spikes 
• Social engagement: Keep an eye on likes, shares, comments, and mentions to see whether users and connecting with your content
• Local rankings: Track your positions in local packs as well as the volume and sentiment of reviews

Get a free trial of Semrush to access all the data and tools you need to execute this off-page SEO checklist and monitor your efforts.